Romulan Bird-of-Prey (23rd century)
The Romulan Bird-of-Prey was a type of warship in service with the military of the Romulan Star Empire during the latter half of the 23rd century. History Gaining its name from the bold pattern of an alien bird painted on the ship's ventral hull, the Romulan bird-of-prey was the successor of a 22nd century counterpart of similar design. The Federation Starfleet first encountered this vessel in 2266, when a single ship of this type crossed the Romulan Neutral Zone and attacked several border outposts, destroying them utterly. The [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] responded to the alert and engaged in a tense game of cat-and-mouse with the intruder for more than ten hours, before the Bird-of-Prey was destroyed. (TOS: "Balance of Terror") The Romulans later used larger numbers to patrol their border with the Federation in force. Typically during an incursion, one Bird-of-Prey will bring a starship out of warp with a plasma torpedo to allow the ships in its battle group to attack the target en masse. When the Enterprise violated the Neutral Zone on the orders of Commodore Stocker in 2267, it was ambushed by a squadron of ten Birds-of-Prey. (TOS: "The Deadly Years") After the Romulan-Klingon Alliance of 2268, the Bird-of-Prey was largely supplanted by the more massive and more versatile Klingon D7-class battlecruiser. (TOS: "[[The Enterprise Incident|The Enterprise Incident]]") Technical Data Physical Arrangement Remarkably similar in design to similar era Federation starships, the Romulan bird-of-prey was designed with a sole primary hull configuration. Grey in color, with its namesake bird design painted on the hull, the bird-of-prey was essentially saucer with parallel warp nacelles mounted port and starboard of the main body. The aft of the ship was designed with a raised "fin." Tactical Systems .]] Although incapable of matching the Federation's ''Constitution''-class starship one-on-one, the ship still featured several technological advances that were previously unknown to Federation science: the first practical invisibility screen, and the massively powerful plasma torpedo. This class of starship had a single forward torpedo launcher. With these combined abilities, the Bird-of-Prey was able to strike its enemies at will, practically undetected and unchallenged. (TOS: "Balance of Terror", "The Deadly Years") Interior Design Main Bridge Located on Deck 1 of the bird-of-prey, the Main Bridge featured a rather small command center, providing access to four computer terminals facing each other in a centrally located consol. These terminals maintained the vessels course control, tactical and cloaking systems. No seating was provided for any of the officers. The bridge had direct access to a corridor in the aft and a viewscreen in the forward section. (TOS: "Balance of Terror) Appendices Appearances * TOS: ** "Balance of Terror" ** "The Deadly Years" Background Model The Romulan Bird of Prey model was designed by designer Wah Ming Chang. Although the original Romulan Bird of Prey studio model was rumored to have been damaged or destroyed (leading to the Klingon ship to be used in its place in The Enterprise Incident), the fact of the matter is that its whereabouts are officially unknown at this time and the Klingon ship was used because they had more invested in it and they needed to get their money's worth out of it. Possibly origins Dialogue in the shooting script (never used or never filmed) had Commander Hansen speculate that the Romulan Bird of Prey was designed from stolen Starfleet ship blueprints. In further unused/unaired dialogue Stiles later remarks on this in his tirades against Spock. Inconsistencies The question of whether the Bird-of-Prey had warp capability is one that has divided fandom. The Star Trek Encyclopedia claims that the vessel only had impulse engines, but Scotty's precise line from "Balance of Terror" actually says "their power is simple impulse" -- referring to their power generators, not neccessarily their propulsion system. Obviously, the Romulans must have some form of faster-than-light drive or they could not have engaged the Earth in an intersteller war in the 22nd century. Perhaps the fuller meaning of Scotty's line is that the Romulans did not have FTL drive of the same type or capabilities as the current type of warp drive used by the Enterprise. Visual evidence (such as the presence of warp nacelle-like objects on the model) also suggest that the ship had faster-than-light capability, as does the fact that the Enterprise was traveling at warp speeds for much of the engagement with the Romulans. Some fans speculate that the powerful plasma weapon in conjunction with the equally powerful cloaking device proved too debilitating for the Bird-of-Prey's propulsion system, leading the Romulan Star Empire to negotiate with the Klingons for an exchange of the cloaking technology for their ships and schematics. References * Star Trek: Starship Spotter (vessel specifications) * Bernd Schneider's thorough treatment of the question of warp drive and Romulan history for more detail. Category:Starship classes